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Presentation on Ecology of Springs

New Insights on the Ecology of Springs!

If you are concerned about the increasing algae overgrowth in many North Florida springs and rivers, then you will want to attend this meeting:  Dr. Matthew Cohen, Assistant Professor of Forest Water Resources and Watershed Systems at the University of Florida, will be giving a presentation titled “Reevaluating the Role of Nitrogen Enrichment in the Ecological Decline of Florida Springs”.  It will be held onThursday April 30 at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the Ft. White Community Center in Fort White, Florida. This free event open to the public is hosted by Save Our Suwannee, Inc. (a not for profit 501 (c) 3).  There will be light refreshments provided afterward.

More about the presentation:  Most people presume that a high the nitrogen level in many springs is solely responsible for those springs increasing algae overgrowth.  However, it may not be that simple!  Dr. Cohen contributed to an extensive literature review and assessment of current knowledge on the subject as part of a grant to the University of Florida from the Florida Department of Environmental  Protection   (LINK)    One of the conclusions from that review was that, in studies where other water quality indicators were measured, components like phosphorus and dissolved oxygen were at least as predictive of system changes as was nitrogen.

More about the speaker: Dr. Cohen received his M.E. in 1999 and Ph.D. in 2003 through the UF Center for Wetlands.  He has been an intern with the World Agroforestry Center in Kenya, and done research on wetland systems, large-area soil and water assessment technologies, and watershed management while at UF’s Center for Environmental Policy and Wetland Biogeochemistry Laboratory. He is currently an affiliate faculty in the Soil and Water Science Department, School of Natural Resources and Environment, and Center for Environmental Policy at UF. Dr. Cohen has significant experience working on watershed related issues including helping develop a hydrologic observatory in the Suwannee River basin. He joined the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation in March 2006, where he studies watershed hydrology, or the way in which water moves through the landscape, and biogeochemistry, the chemical and biological processes that take place in soils and elsewhere in the environment.      For more information please contact Joseph Prenger, SOS Board Member, at 352-246-3981.

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